Tag: Singapore

  • Cancer-Stricken Mother Loses Subsidy After Raising Funds Through Crowdfunding

    Cancer-Stricken Mother Loses Subsidy After Raising Funds Through Crowdfunding

    A single mother with cancer has been cut off from medical and social assistance subsidy schemes after raising $900,000 in donations.

    Ms Tam Chek Ming, 46, is the first publicly known case to have financial aid terminated due to being able to raise funds on her own.

    This comes at a time when individual appeals online have garnered up to six-figure sums in donations.

    While Ms Tam managed to raise funds online, social workers said people caught in financial emergencies should still turn to government aid schemes first, and warned that crowdfunding has its risks for donors and fund-raisers.

    Ms Tam learnt in 2015 that she had ovarian cancer. Despite chemotherapy, her cancer progressed from Stage 1 to 4. For the past two years, her medical bills were subsidised by Medifund, a social safety net to help poor Singaporeans pay for medical treatment – specifically those unable to pay their bills even after subsidies, insurance, Medisave and cash payments.

    Ms Tam also made crowdfunding appeals – one in April last year and another this April – saying she had to fight her cancer to stay alive for her five-year-old son.

    She went on crowdfunding pages Give.asia and Generosity and has raised $771,692 and US$80,047 (S$109,000) respectively so far.

    In May, a Medifund committee from the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore, where she was receiving treatment, examined her access to Medifund as part of a regular review and subsidies were stopped last month.

    A spokesman for the institute told The Straits Times: “The committee assessed that Ms Tam no longer needed to rely on Medifund assistance for her medical bills based on her current financial resources; and that Medifund amount can be used to help other patients with more immediate needs.”

    She used to be on Comcare, a national aid scheme for those with low income, for three months from November last year but did not return to renew her assistance in January.

    A second application in May this year was rejected “as she was assessed to have sufficient savings”, said a spokesman from the Ministry of Social and Family Development, which oversees the scheme.

    Ms Tam declined to comment. In her posts on crowdfunding pages, she had said she sold off all she could sell in her two-room flat and skipped meals so her son could eat.

    She also said the immunotherapy she needed was not covered by Medifund or other schemes. Generally, a dose is required every 21 days and costs about $6,000.

    Social service experts ST spoke to said the Government made the right move to stop her financial aid, so help can be given to others. They also said if her donations are used up and she needs more money again, she can reapply for subsidies.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • PRC Guy Cheats Taxi Of Trip To Airport, Fly Back Home Without Paying

    PRC Guy Cheats Taxi Of Trip To Airport, Fly Back Home Without Paying

    Be carefull of this PRC guy .

    Book grab cash taxi no money to pay, 6A boon tiong road to airport.

    When reach airport he say he got no money .he going back to China.he say I come then pay u.

    What can u do !! call grab cannot do anything . Grab say they try to contract him but cannot reach him..

    CB Grab system fxxk up.

     

    Source: Justin Chua in SMRT Taxi Share

  • Man Wears American-Flag Polo While Taking National Day Photo With PAP MP?

    Man Wears American-Flag Polo While Taking National Day Photo With PAP MP?

    Dear All Singapore Stuff,

    Please see the attached photo. PAP is celebrating Singapore’s national day and US Independence Day in August.

    The guy on the National Day banner next to the PAP MP is wearing a shirt with the USA flag.

    Grassroots leader forgot which flag is Singapore’s?

     

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • SDP: Support For Unemployed – PAP Follows SDP’s Lead, Again

    SDP: Support For Unemployed – PAP Follows SDP’s Lead, Again

    The latest scheme adopted by the NTUC to provide professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) who are retrenched with financial assistance is a modified version of the SDP’s proposal launched 2010.

    The PAP’s idea, called Returner Work Trial, will assist employers to offer job training for the individuals who have been unemployed for at least two years. The trainee, who must be 30 and above, will receive

    • $1,500 per month from Workforce Singapore
    • $1,000 per month from the potential employer
    • a $2,500 allowance

    The payout period for trainees is limited to six months.

    Compare this to the SDP’s RESTART (Re-Employment Scheme and Temporary Assistance for the ReTrenched) programme where retrenched workers will receive:

    • 75% of last drawn salary (capped at median wage) for first six months
    • 50% for the second six months if still unemployed
    • 25% for the third six months if still unemployed

    The payout period is capped at 18 months and MOM will help match retrenched individuals with jobs. The job-seekers can only reject up to three job offers.

    Read also SDP proposes RESTART to support retrenched workers

    The NTUC’s idea is essentially an unemployment benefits scheme similar to RESTART but with the difference that under the Returner Worker Trial programme, a retrenched worker has to undergo training in order to get the financial support. There are many problems with the measure:

    One, it is restricted only to PMETs. There are many retrenched workers who are not PMETs. They also face the same hardships when laid-off.

    Two, the payout-training period lasts for only six months after which the employer has no obligation to offer the trainee a permanent job. This is especially salient as Singapore’s economy contracts with job vacancies continuing to fall.

    Three, how are retrenched workers expected to survive if they have to remain unemployed for two years before they qualify for the scheme? A study found that 50 percent of households have little or no savings due to the high cost of living to tide them through difficult times.

    In addition, why is the government using taxpayers’ money to subsidise businesses? Companies can use the scheme as a cheap source of labour. Also, will this not encourage companies to lay off workers and then profit by “training” others under the scheme at a state-subsidised rate?

    Given such loopholes, Temasek Holdings needs to state how many of its Government-linked companies are participating in the scheme and the government needs to tell the public how much these GLCs will stand to benefit from it.

    In the past, the PAP has also followed the SDP’s lead on minimum wage, universal healthcare, and employing Singaporeans first.

     

    Source: http://yoursdp.org

  • Skim Label Tempat Letak Kereta Bagi Orang Kurang Upaya Diperketat

    Skim Label Tempat Letak Kereta Bagi Orang Kurang Upaya Diperketat

    Kementerian Pembangunan Sosial dan Keluarga (MSF) menyemak semula Skim Label Tempat Meletak Kereta.

    Bermula bulan November ini hanya mereka yang menggunakan alat-alat bantuan pergerakan yang besar seperti kerusi roda dan alat bantu jalan atau ‘walking frames’ akan menerima label meletak kereta khas bagi golongan kurang upaya.

    Ini bermakna mereka yang menggunakan tongkat yang layak di bawah skim sekarang tidak akan lagi layak menerima label itu apabila ukur tara yang lebih ketat berkuatkuasa.

    Demikian menurut MSF dalam sidang media untuk mengumumkan perubahan-perubahan tersebut pada Khamis (27 Jul).

    Menurutnya permintaan bagi label-label Kelas 1 dan Kelas 2 meningkat sekitar 30 peratus sepanjang lima tahun ini, dengan permintaan bagi Kelas 2 naik hampir 60 peratus dalam tempoh yang sama.

    Label Kelas 1 adalah pemandu kurang upaya yang memerlukan penggunaan alat-alat bantuan pergerakan.

    Ia membenarkan pemandu itu meletakkan kereta mereka di lot yang mudah untuk diakses.

    Kelas 2 pula adalah untuk mereka yang membawa penumpang kurang upaya.

    LABEL TEMPAT MELETAK KERETA DIREKA SEMULA

    Sebagai sebahagian daripada perubahan itu, MSF juga mereka semula label tempat meletak kereta termasuk label yang lebih besar, hologram yang tidak boleh dirosakkan dan huruf lebih besar bagi membantu para pegawai penguatkuasa.

    Label Kelas 2 juga membolehkan pemandu menunjukkan masa mereka tiba di tempat meletak kereta. Pemandu yang meletak kereta mereka lebih daripada sejam akan didenda sebanyak S$200.

    MSF menyatakan pemohon baru dan sedia ada yang layak akan diberi label-label baru itu dari pertengahan bulan Ogos. Mereka yang tidak layak di bawah skim baru ini akan diberikan label baru sehingga tempoh penggunaannya tamat.

    Kementerian itu menjangkakan jumlah pemohon akan merosot 10 peratus apabila skim baru ini dikuatkuasakan.

    Menurutnya perubahan-perubahan tersebut dibuat selepas berunding dengan orang-orang berkepentingan, termasuk golongan kurang upaya dan penjaga mereka. “Terdapat kata sepakat untuk memperuntukkan lot-lot meletak kereta yang mudah diakses kepada mereka yang memerlukan ruang untuk naik dan turun kenderaan mereka,” menurut kementerian itu.

    SUBSISI TEKSI DIPERTINGKAT BAGI GOLONGAN KURANG UPAYA, TERMASUK KERETA SEWA PRIVET

    MSF juga mengumumkan lebih ramai warga Singapura dan Penduduk Tetap yang kurang upaya boleh menggunakan khidmat teksi untuk pergi ke kerja dan sekolah bermula bulan depan selepas perubahan terhadap Skim Subsidi Teksi. Mereka juga boleh menggunakan subsidi tersebut untuk membuat tempahan bagi khidmat kereta-kereta sewa privet yang berdaftar dengan Penguasa Pengangkutan Darat seperti Grab dan Uber.

    Bermula 1 Ogos, keluarga yang mempunyai pendapatan per kapita sehingga S$2,600 akan layak menerima subsidi di bawah skim ini. Kini, hanya keluarga yang mempunyai pendapatan per kapita S$1,800 sahaja yang layak.

    Dengan peningkatan ini, MSF mengatakan mereka yang menerima subsidi akan bertambah daripada 80 kepada 300 menjelang tahun 2021.

    Pemerintah juga akan menambah subsidi perjalanan, dari 50 peratus kepada 80 peratus. Contohnya, rakyat Singapura yang mempunyai pendapatan per kapita sebanyak S$700 akan mendapat subsidi tambang teksi sebanyak 80 peratus. Di bawah skim sekarang ini, subsidinya berjumlah 50 peratus.

    Bagi seseorang dengan pendapatan per kapita S$1,800, jumlah subsidi naik kepada 50 peratus tambang teksi bulanan, berbanding 20 peratus sekarang ini.

    “Peningkatan ini menyokong Pelan Induk Pengupayaan Ketiga, untuk memudahkan pergerakan golongan kurang upaya supaya mereka boleh ambil serta dalam kegiatan kemasyarakatan,” menurut MSF dalam kenyataannya.

    Dengan peningkatan tersebut pemerintah akan membelanjakan S$2.5 juta sepanjang lima tahun akan datang, peningkatan sebanyak S$700,000 setahun.

    Skim ini dilancarkan pada Oktober 2014, yang membolehkan golongan kurang upaya yang layak, menerima semula tambang teksi mereka secara bulanan.

     

    Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg/

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